I was proud of America. I feared that when it came to it, most white people wouldn’t vote for a black person. However, as the New York Times said, the economy was the overriding issue, and so many, no doubt, “swallowed hard” and did the deed.

Brilliant!

Race is a double edged sword. 13 percent of the voters were black, and, probably, would have voted for Obama even if his platform was far-fetched. And, in the final analysis, the people who voted for him because he was black, outweighed those who did not vote for him because he was black.

My friend Paul Miller used to say that 90 percent of wisdom lay in keeping your mouth shut, and saying as little as possible. We see that in Obama. While McCain’s reaction to the collapse of Lehman was to say that the fundamentals of the economy are strong (as except for the over-borrowing, I believe they are) Obama said nothing, and so, in contrast to McCain’s failed attempt to fix the credit crisis, came across as the better choice. His early off the cuff remarks got him into trouble, like saying that most small town Americans are bitter, clinging to guns and religion, and so he confined himself to jingly quotable slogans as the election progressed–like, Yes, we can.

His acceptance speech was brilliant and well-crafted. I have no doubt his inauguration speech will be as good as Kennedy’s.

Seeing black people with tears pouring down their faces as they voted for a black man and watched him win, was the most memorable and emotive moment of the campaign. What a heavy weight of love and expectation for Obama to carry!